Patent GB-1316839-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for storing and printing data
IPC: B41J5/46
Filed: 1970-06-24
Abstract: 1316839 Digital control of printers ING C OLIVETTI & C SpA 24 June 1970 [3 July 1969] 30757/70 Heading G4H A data terminal unit having a keyboard and a printer for printing data to be transmitted, keyed in from the keyboard, has a tabulating facility enabling multi-digit numbers to be printed in a column with the right hand end digit of each number all aligned at a chosen point on the page. Each multi-digit number is first keyed into a store digit by digit, each digit causing the printer to back space by one space from an initial position chosen by a tabulating key. After the last digit has been entered together with the tabulating key symbol the multi-digit number is transferred digit by digit to a second store being printed as it is transferred to join the verbal part of the message previously keyed into this second store. Further multi-digit numbers follow then the whole message can be transmitted to a central processor when the terminal is poled. As shown in Fig. 2, a keyboard 1 having alphanumeric, numeric and function sections 19, 20, 21 communicates via a control unit 28 with a store 4 consisting of a magneto-strictive delay line 27 having 500 character positions, the first 15 of which designate the first store and the remaining positions the second store. Each character position has ten bits D1-D10, seven for the character, one for parity and two for tab bits which are entered during reading and writing respectively to identify the next character to be read or the next character position to be written into. A transducer 52 reads bits at one end of the line and transfers them to the first of a series of three bi-stable circuits F1AC, F1AL, F1EL which are clocked on by timing pulses C. When a character has been keyed into a register 26 the next tag bit to appear in F1AL identifying a free character position causes the bits of a character in register 26 to be successively introduced via gates 56 into F1AL. At the end of entering a character the tag bit is re-introduced into the D1 bit position of the next character position. Reading is similar with bits being taken from F1AL and put into register 26 via gate 58. The read tag bits being put into the D2 position of the next character location. When numerical data is to be inserted, one of three tabulation keys are operated to identify one of three tabulation positions. The symbol for the depressed tabulation key is passed to a function recognition unit 29 in the printer unit 6 causing the print carriage to shift until the correct tabulation stop is detected by a tabulation unit 31. Signals from three switches 39, 40 and 41 operated by a profiled tabulation stop on the carriage lock all three keyboards but the numerical one. A multi-digital number is now keyed into the first store with the carriage being back spaced by signals over channel 5 one space for each digit entered. The tabulation key is depressed once again causing the number to be read out into register 26 and printed simultaneously. The multi-digit number is then read into the second storage portion of the delay line to join any previously keyed in verbal part of a message to be transmitted. The reading out of the tabulation symbol from the first store causes the carriage to shift back to the tabulation stop identified by that tabulation symbol ready for entry of the next multi-digit number.